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Perth International golf tournament - day four live

Simon White

Bo Van Pelt had good reason to shake his caddy's hand after an epic birdie putt on the 18th hole on Saturday gave him a one-shot lead headed into the last round of the Perth International.

US star Bo Van Pelt is the inaugural winner of the $2 million Perth International at Lake Karrinyup.

Van Pelt, the leader after three rounds had three birdies on the front nine today to establish what would ultimately be an unassailable lead - despite the best efforts of compatriot and playing partner Jason Dufner.

Dufner at one stage narrowed the gap between the pair on the back nine to a single shot but that was as close as it would get.

Dufner bogeyed the 16th hole, which restored Van Pelt's lead to three shots. Van Pelt had a slight hiccup with a bogey on the 17th but both players would par the 18th to leave Van Pelt the winner with a score of 272 (-16).

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Spain's Alejandro Canizares rode a streak of four birdies in the last six holes to a third place finish on -10, while New Zealand's Michael Hendry was fourth on -9.

Longtime leader, Argentinean 20-year-old Emiliano Grillo, was part of a logjam of players at -8, with Greg Chalmers the best of the Aussies at -7 (after dropping three shots in the final four holes).

Long-hitting Steve Jones was set to claim that honour ahead of Chalmers before he doubled-bogeyed the last and finished at -6.

5.13pm: Well, Bo Van Pelt made it interesting by dropping a shot on the par-three 17th but both he and Jason Dufner have parred the 18th - meaning Van Pelt wins the inaugural $2 million Perth International by two shots. A very worthy winner he was too. Take away his bogey on 14 today and then the slight hiccup on the 17th and Van Pelt played almost flawless golf over the last three days.

4.45pm: And that could be the tournament right there. Dufner lips out from five feet, Van Pelt pars from four feet on 16. Two holes to play and big Bo leads by three.

4.38pm: Unusual job for the rules official there - having to ajudicate on a piece of duck-sh-t (or, as the commentators call it, "ducky-doo") on the side of Bo Van Pelt's ball. It matters not as Bo just belts his ball on to the green, ducky-doo and all. Jason Dufner is short with his second and had a tough chip up, which he executed beautifully to about five feet.

4.29pm: Another dropped shot for Greg Chalmers on 17 but a birdie for Michael Hendry - only the second of the day on that hole. He joins Emiliano Grillo and and Alejandron Canizares on -10. Birdie for Bo Van Pelt on 15 takes his lead back out to two, with Jason Dufner recording a par on that hole.

4.24pm: Not good news for Greg Chalmers - two dropped shots on 16 and he's back to -8. Alejandro Canizares has three straight birdies to be at -10, joining Emiliano Grillo, who reached the par-five 15th green in two and then couldn't take advantage of tough eagle and birdie opportunities.

4.11pm: Game back on. Two-shot swing on the 14th hole as Jason Dufner puts his second shot inside inside four inches, while Bo Van Pelt ends up three-putting after being short on the front tier of the green with his approach shot. One of Van Pelt's missed putts was only four feet. Van Pelt -16, Dufner -15.

4.00pm: You wouldn't believe it, Paul Casey misses his putt and finishes with a par for a total of -8. A good tournament for the Englishman but he'll end up wondering where he might have been without Friday's disintegration on the second nine. Better news for Greg Chalmers, who birdies the 15th to go to -10. Michael Hendry is back to -9, also after a birdie on 15. But they are all in a different universe to Bo Van Pelt, is who is -17 on the 14th tee.

3.55pm: Huge roars on the 18th green as Paul Casey puts his approach shot three-feet from the pin. One of the shots of the day.

3.35pm: This could actually become Bo Van Pelt first and daylight second. Birdie for him on the par-five 11th, par for Dufner and the gap is back to three shots. Meanwhile, things continue to go wrong for Emiliano Grillo. He came up short with his tee shot on the par-three 12th, then overputted and finished with another bogey to drop back to -10.

3.31pm: It's a fair old logjam of players at -8. Greg Chalmers and the day's quiet achiever, Scott Jamieson, have joined the eight-under party. And Paul Casey is back there too after a bogey on the 16th.

3.18pm: Have to suggest this is down to a race in two - Bo Van Pelt and Jason Dufner both birdie the 10th and they are now five and three shots respectively in front of an increasingly tired looking Emiliano Grillo. These last eight holes are going to be a joy to watch.

3.10pm: Just been down to watch Dufner and Van Pelt coming up the ninth green and it's a great scene here at Lake Karrinyup - hundreds of people lining the fairways. Dufner found himself buried in a bunker on the par-three eighth, which he bogeyed. But he then got one back to return to -13 on the ninth hole with a great approach shot and a perfect putt to loud applause.

2.48pm: Steve Jones is quickly turning into the Australian story of this tournament. He put his second shot on the ninth in a beautiful spot 10 feet behind the flag and rolled the birdie to go to -9.

2.43pm: It's an epic contest out in front between Bo Van Pelt and Jason Dufner. Dufner just put his second shot in a bunker on the par-five seventh, then fluffed his next short to just short of the green only to chip in for birdie. But Van Pelt had an instant - if more traditional - replay, rolling his birdie putt to go to -15.

2.36pm: Not sure there are too many more streaky players than Michael Hendry. He had a double-bogey and a bogey on holes three and four, now he has three straight birdies to finish the front nine and reach -8.

2.32pm: Oh dear, Alejandro Canizares just had every golfer's worst nightmare - two shots getting out of a bunker. Tough putt coming back too on the par-three eight. He ends up with double-bogey. Meanwhile, Emiliano Grillo has dropped a shot on seven and is back to -11.

2.29pm: Some kind of rounds Knut Borsheim and Paul Casey are having. Both birdied the 12th - Borsheim is -9 and Casey is -8.

2.20pm: Knut Borsheim - wow! Almost no-one would know his name, even fewer could probably say it. But he's just birdied the 11th to go to -5 for the day and -8 for the tournament, in a tie for fourth spot.

2.05pm: Welcome back to the leaderboard Paul Casey. Long time no see. The Englishman has birdied the 10th to go to -4 for the day and -7 for the tournament. That's the same score he reached after six holes of day two, before the wheels came off.

1.57pm: Both Bo Van Pelt and Jason Dufner have missed makeable birdie putts on the fourth. Dufner came up just short. Van Pelt went just past the hole after a misread on the break. Both were putting from a lot closer than Greg Chalmers, who rolled in a bona fide bomb downhill on the difficult par-four sixth to preserve his score of -7

1.52pm: Birdies coming thick and fast here. Emiliano Grillo rolled one on the par-four fourth and you'd assume one of either Bo Van Pelt or Jason Dufner might follow suit after knocking their approach shots within 12 feet.

1.45pm: Jason Dufner gets a birdie on three that could easily have been an albatross. Bo Van Pelt knocks in his birdie putt on the same hole to go to -14. Michael Hendry holes an absolute monster of a putt on the fifth to go back to -5. Alejandro Canizares' miss to the right of the fourth green has dropped him back to -7.

1.42pm: Man, there is some awesome golf being played out there. Bo Van Pelt raised some eyebrows when he laid up with his second on the par-five third hole - but then put his approach shot within two feet to set up a birdie putt. Playing partner Jason Dufner rifled his second shot into the green, narrowly missing the pin and setting up a testing eagle putt.

1.38pm: Paul Casey just had a golden opportunity to move to -7 on par-three eighth but pulled his putt from 10 feet. No such issues for his playing partner Knut Borsheim who is the day's biggest mover. He's eagled and birdied eight to be at -7.

1.34pm: Yikes, Michael Hendry falls off our leaderboard with a double-bogey on the third and then a bogey on four. But Emiliano Grillo is up to -11 after getting up and down from a greenside bunker on the par-five third for a birdie.

1.28pm: Alejandro Canizares makes his birdie putt on the third to go to -8 and a share of fourth spot. Van Pelt has built quite the lead at the moment but he could hardly be feeling safe the way some of these guys in front have started.

1.21pm: What a round this is from Steve Webster. A birdie on the 15th and he's up to -6 for the day.

1.16pm: David Howell into outright fourth spot with an absolute bomb of a putt from the front of the green on the second. That's a birdie for him, while Emiliano Grillo calmly rolls a six-foot putt for par.

1.10pm: Great start for Van Pelt with a birdie on the first. The decision to keep the driver in the bag off the tee pays off as his approach shot in from 100-odd metres finishes us only eight feet from the pin. Rolls the putt to go to -13 and a two-shot break.

1.02pm: Jason Dufner and Bo Van Pelt are both away safely off the first tee. Van Pelt put the driver away on that hole for the first time all week. Good news for fans of Greg Chalmers. He's birdied the second to go to -7. Must have been a magnificent second shot as it finished all of six inches from the flag.

12.58pm: Calamity for Andre Stolz on the second with a double-bogey cancelling out - and then some - the birdie he had on the first. He's back to -4.

12.55pm: Some quick scoring updates. Michael Hendry has birdied the first to go to -7. His playing partner Greg Chalmers stays at -6 with a par. Steve Jones makes good use of his birdie putt and also moves to -7. Andre Stolz is at -6 after an early birdie and Paul Casey is up to -5 after a birdie on the fifth hole.

12.50pm: Wow, tough gig keeping up with the Joneses! Steve Jones has just come out and driven the first green. He's three or four feet short with the birdie putt but really an exceptional effort there.

12.12pm: Steve Webster with another birdie at 10 to move to -5 for the day and -4 for the tournament. This is some kind of run the Englishman is having - he's all the way up to a tie for 13th. Interesting to note before when I was watching Paul Casey's tee shot on one that the wind seemed to have dropped off a little since mid-morning. Still the odd gust or two but may not be as much of a factor as I originally thought it might.

12.06pm: Steve Webster has made the turn in 32 - on track for the tournament's best round. Another birdie for Jason Scrivener moves him to -5 for the tournament, while South Australian Paul Spargo has three birdies in four holes and is up to -4.

12.01pm: Beef Johnston's tournament has finished at +4 - with an even-par 72 today. The, well, erm, beefy Englishman had a little bit of everything today. He birdied three of the first four holes and eagled the 15th but also had five bogeys. As it stands, he's in equal 54th place.

11.56am: Word through that Paul Casey has birdied the first to go to -4. Might be a little too late but it would be great to see the Englishman go on a tear today. His wedge into that green was perfection, finishing up about three feet from the pin.

11.53am: Young Perth amateur Oliver Goss has finished the tournament at +6 but there is a lot to like about his game. He hit a bruising tee shot on the 18th, then undid some of his work with a short approach shot - fairway to green is where his game will improve in the years to come.

11.45am: Paul Casey is safely away off the first tee. After pushing a driver right and bogeying the first yesterday, the Englishman stuck to an iron today and is comfortably on the fairway. Great start by WA's Jason Scrivener with his birdie on the first. He got as low as -8 yesterday before things went a little awry, so that's a confidence-building start for him.

11.12am: Great start to the day for Edoardo Molinari with a birdie on the first to go to -2. South Australia's Paul Spargo was dead unlucky there - he flushed his driver and it the face of the greenside bunker on the full. Another two metres right and he'd have an eagle putt. Speaking of eagles - England's Steve Webster has one on the sixth. Didn't see it but, given it's a 415-metre par four, you'd imagine he's holed out from some distance.

11.08am: We're now inside two hours away from our final pairing of Jason Dufner and Bo Van Pelt teeing off. David Howell and Emiliano Grillo will go nine minutes before them. The first of the real big guns off the tee today is England's Paul Casey, who has had what might best be termed an up-and-down tournament. He's away at 11.43am (WST).

10.55am: James McLean turns in 33 - still some chance of matching or beating the 65s posted by Alejandro Canizares and Michael Hendry on day one. Good start to the day for Matthew Millar, who has a birdie and an eagle inside four holes. A nice filip for him after he got to -4 with a birdie on the first yesterday, then had four bogeys and a double bogey (with only two more birdies) for the rest of the round.

10.40am: For those wondering where the pin has ended up today on 18 (after yesterday's front right blowtorch effort), the answer is deep back-left. On face value it's easier to attack than yesterday, especially for those right-handers who hit draw, but drift only a little too far to the left and you're going to be in a deep bunker, with not much green to work with between you and the pin.

10.30am: Just been up to the driving range and I can tell you that the wind has picked up significantly since the still start to the morning. I wouldn't say it's hurricane-strength or anything like that but there are certainly some strong gusts. Is the Fremantle Doctor finally going to have a say in this tournament? I definitely wouldn't want to be playing the Beast at 18 into this kind of breeze.

10.05am: Cracking start to the final day for James McLean, who some might remember as the face (or body) of a PGA of Australia campaign to bring sexy back to golf. He has another birdie on the sixth to take him to -4 for the day and -1 for the tournament.

9.53am: The Beef giveth and The Beef taketh away. Entertaining Englishman Andew "Beef" Johnston picked up three shots in the first four holes today but has given them all back before the turn. He's now at +4, just where he started the day.

9.38am: Couple of nice fast starts out here, none better than James McLean, who is back to even for the tournament after two birdies, an eagle and a bogey inside the first four holes. Young New South Welsham Rohan Blizard is -2 after eight holes. Saw him on the range a bit earlier - he's only short and would struggle to stay standing up in a moderate Freo Doctor but he strikes the ball nicely.

9.23am: New Zealand's Michael Hendry, who will tee off today at 12.33pm on -6 produced one of the all-time great flukey shots yesterday afternoon on 11. Maybe the best way to describedit is to say he ripped a three-wood from 240 metres, which resulted in the ball careering into a greenside bunker, then performing a body-boarder like barrell roll off the sandtrap's lip, which catapaulted it onto the green about eight feet away from the pin. Hendry made his eagle putt and in honour of yesterday's effort, it seems an opportune time to celebrate 10 of golf's luckiest shots.

9.15am: It's been a disappointing tournament for Brett Rumford in his home town, dropping several shots late on both Friday and Saturday. But he's started the right way today with a birdie on the par-five third that takes him to +2 overall.

8.55am: Beef Johnston continues his great start to the final day with three birdies in the first four holes. Take away yesterday's horror show and he'd be -7 for the tournament right now. Sadly for the young lad from Hertfordshire, tournaments get played over four days!

Beef Johnston in all his glory.

8.45am: We've got our on-course reporter The Beev out striding the fairways again tor us today. He's bravely made his way back after copping a bit of sunburn yesterday - he's borderline ginger, The Beev, so 28 degrees and no suncream didn't quite agree with him. He's out following young Perth amateur Oliver Goss right now and reports that it's so still out on the Lake Karrinyup course right now that this afternoon could develop into a shootout. Let's hope he's right.

8.38am: No doubting the "epicness" of Bo Van Pelt's putt on the 18th yesterday but he has a ways to go to catch up to the one below. If, as Van Pelt said yesterday, his effort was a matter of "once in a while a hole gets in the way", imagine how this bloke must have felt!

8.18am: A few of our early starters are out on the course already. Couple of interesting names among them, chiefly Australia's Peter Wilson and Englishman Andrew Johnston. Wilson was at -5 for the tournament after 12 holes on Friday but finished up yesterday at +5. He's already had a double-bogey today on the par-four second. The burly Johnston, who goes by the nickname of Beef, has an even rougher tale to tell. He turned into Friday's second nine at -7 and finished the round at -4, then carded an 80 yesterday in which he had seven bogeys, a double-bogey and a birdie. At least he has birdied the first here to start off day four.

2 comments so far

"9.23am: New Zealand's Michael Hendry, who will tee off today at 12.33pm on -6 produced one of the all-time great flukey shots yesterday afternoon on 15."Simon, It was the 11th hole not the 15th.

Commenter

Thorpedo

Location

Canning Vale

Date and time

October 21, 2012, 12:35PM

Thanks Thorpedo - actually just realised that myself and will fix up straight away. Cheers for the pointer.